


Blooming Sunflowers and Adoration

by Draconly



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28018542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draconly/pseuds/Draconly
Summary: Lapis was looking to bring a little color into her life but she never expected the local floral shop to bring colors brighter than any flower.
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	Blooming Sunflowers and Adoration

**Author's Note:**

> "Sunflowers symbolize adoration, loyalty and longevity. Much of the meaning of sunflowers stems from its namesake, the sun itself... Sunflowers are known for being “happy” flowers, making them the perfect gift to bring joy to someone's day."
> 
> For Ceru ❤

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/185443884@N02/50707187268/in/dateposted-public/)

Astoria, Oregon.

The quaint little town was the oldest in the state and arguably the most famous. Movies like _‘The Goonies’_ and _‘Kindergarten Cop’_ had boosted the town’s tourism and attracted movie fans from around the world after they had been filmed there.

Lapis hated cliché tourism. The movie-themed tourist buses. The merchandise tailored to grab the attention of children and adults alike; their favorite movie characters plastered on shirts, bags, socks, whatever would sell, really. In retrospect, she should have done a bit more research before moving, but that realization was three months too late and she didn’t have the money -or willpower really- to move again.

The natural beauty of the town coupled with the many, _many,_ shades of green is what kept Lapis there, if she was being honest with herself. The serene beauty of the fog rolling in early in the morning, the way the stars reflected off the water late at night, the vibrant flowers when they bloomed- all of it kept her there.

Lapis found herself thinking and reminiscing on her choices, the town, the tourists, in her new favorite pub. The location was near the heart of town, but it didn’t have a cringy theme like the rest of the shops and restaurants; she got enough of that at work anyway. Gratefully this place was just a pub. No movie merchandise on the wall, no character-themed drinks, just a dimly lit and grungy pub you could get drunk in. She loved it.

She took a sip from her drink before turning to look out the windows and out to the street. The familiar sight of the flower shop caught her eye first; a sight she had grown to love. Lapis hadn’t ventured inside yet, but she loved to look at all the flowers and plants practically falling out of the store. 

An old blue truck parked by the curb in front of the store, completely blocking Lapis’ view inside. She had seen the truck before, always outside of the shop, but never the driver. She expected an older man or woman, pants covered in rich, dark dirt, to get out. The young blonde that hopped out took her off guard; though her pants were still covered in dirt.

Lapis watched as she hurried to the back of the truck and lowered the tailgate. The bed of the truck was full of dirt the same color as the dirt on the girl’s pants.

Lapis smiled to herself then, deciding that she must either be an employee or the owner of the shop. She reached back and pulled a pen from her hair that was still left there from her shift at the restaurant then grabbed a clean napkin from the empty spot at the bar next to her. She hadn’t drawn all day and her hand was itching.

As Lapis watched and studied the blonde take the dirt behind the shop, one inefficient bucket at a time, she sketched her a couple of times on the clean napkin. The blonde was cute, Lapis had to admit to herself while drawing the glasses on the face, maybe she would go in tomorrow and buy a bouquet. If anything, the flowers could brighten up her art studio.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/185443884@N02/50707187343/in/dateposted-public/)

***

Lapis had expected the flower shop to smell earthy, but _not_ _that_ _earthy!_ The smell hit her right away and she was taken aback for a moment. After a second inhale, she could smell how deep and rich it really was. It reminded her of the rich earth her father had used to fill the flower beds back home in Hawaii.

The shopkeep had heard the bell chime to let her know someone had entered her shop. After taking a moment to wipe her hands clean, well, as clean as she really cared they were; she ran a garden shop after all- she made her way to the store section of her shop. In reality, she only made it just past the threshold. The blonde had expected one of her regulars, the lovely Mr. Williams always bought his wife flowers on Tuesdays, but the customer standing there was… stunning.

Her hair was dyed a bright and brilliant blue, similar to some trapper's gentian that had just bloomed in her nursery. The customer’s eyes were such a honeyed shade of brown, the blonde found herself immediately drawn into them. It wasn’t until she was addressed did she worry about how long she had been staring,

“Um, hi there. I was looking to buy a bouquet of flowers. Nothing too fancy, but something colorful would be nice.”

The blonde blinked a few times before she found her voice, “I-I can make one real fast for you,” though the voice she found was more of an undignified squeak. Heat flooded the blonde’s cheeks.

Lapis covered her mouth with a hand to hide the smile the involuntarily formed on her lips, the expression the blonde made only proved her attempt failed. She cleared her throat, “That would be great, thank you.”

She watched the blonde scurry back into the door she had appeared from. It was only a few moments later when Lapis’ curiosity got the best of her and she went to peek behind the threshold. What Lapis saw almost took her breath away. 

Lush shades of green filled her vision with brilliant, colorful flowers peppered throughout. Lapis hadn’t expected all of the flowers to be grown behind the shop; most flower shops she knew ordered their flowers from large growers miles away. The more she let her eyes wander the dense vegetation, the more a pattern revealed itself. An organized chaos of flowers carefully grouped together in patterns Lapis didn’t know. She almost forgot that she was in the middle of a town at all.

Lapis spotted the head of blonde hair among the sea of green. She watched as the shopkeeper carefully selected a flower, nimble fingers running down along the stem to a spot determined by what Lapis didn’t know. A careful snip of some scissors and the flower was gently placed in a basket with others.

The blonde felt the eyes on her before turning to see the angel of a customer watching her. She cleared her throat as she stood up straight, “I, um, I don’t usually let customers back here.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I can go back-”

“No no no no no,” she quickly spat out, “it’s okay. Just don’t touch anything.”

“Promise.” Lapis held up three fingers in a classic boy scout salute, pleased with the shy smile the blonde gave in response.

“If I may ask, who is this for?”

“Hmm,” Lapis easily picked up on the cautious tone, “someone I need to spend more time with, sort of an apology.” It wasn’t a lie, not really. She did need to spend more time with the art side of herself. She had decided at work that she would paint the bouquet, maybe try it in Van Gogh’s style.

“Ah. I see.” The blonde did her best to hide any hint of disappointment in her voice. “A lot of people buy flowers for apologies. Besides valentine’s day, it might be the second biggest reason people do.”

“I would imagine,” Lapis started to walk around, careful of where she placed her feet. She kept her hands clasped behind her back, intending to be respectful of the “do not touch” mandate she had been given. She stopped at a bunch of sunflowers, smiling at the resemblance of the yellow petals to the shopkeeper’s hair. Van Gogh had painted quite a few sunflowers, perhaps she could ask for a few of them to be added next time.

“Um,” The short woman had been watching, taking note, “I-if I could ask you to go back up front. I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Of course.” Lapis smiled, “This is your shop, after all.” She gave the blonde a wink before heading back to the front.

The gardener stood there, dumbfounded, completely short-circuited by the wink. She was sure her entire face was a bright shade of red. She took long enough to make sure there was a normal amount of hue to her cheeks before headed to the front. The customer standing there sent an electric current through her heart. She could barely look away as she walked to the register. 

“Do you want them in a vase?”

“Do I have to buy the vase?” Lapis pulled her wallet from the small book bag slung over her shoulder.

“N-nope!” She squeaked. Normally she would charge extra for a vase, but not for this enchanting customer.

“Then sure.” Lapis smiled, finding the squeak adorable.

It didn’t take the shopkeeper long to have the flowers arranged in a vase, “Okay, ma’am. That will be twenty-two dollars and fifty-two cents.”

“Sure thing.” Lapis counted out the cash, “I noticed you don’t have a nametag, mind if I ask your name?”

“P-P-Peridot.” Peridot took the cash from her, “May I have y-yours?”

“Hmm… Nope.” Lapis winked again before picking the vase up and leaving Peridot completely stunned behind the shop counter.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it! Definitely a different style than what I'm used to writing. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> This was for Cerussite, my part of our trade. If they like it and this story gets enough attention, I might write more in this AU.
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Draconly


End file.
